The present invention relates to electronic wagering games commonly referred to as slot machines. More particularly, it relates to slot machines including video Poker machines, and the selection of an applicable pay table for winning combination awards.
Slot machines are well known gaming devices. These devices are embodied as electromechanical devices employing rotating reels to present outcomes or purely electronic machines using a video display (commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cvideo gamesxe2x80x9d). For slot machines, a player makes a wager by inputting coins or tokens or wagering accumulated credits and prompts play of the game. A processor controller, upon prompting of play, employs a random number generator (RNG) to select and outcome and controls the reels or video display to display the outcome represented by a combination of selected indicia. RNGs are well known and some gaming jurisdictions may have available, approved, RNGs for use.
In most cases, the game has a pre-determined, fixed schedule of winning outcomes and the pay out for each often referred to as the pay table. This pay table is posted so that the player can confirm winning combinations and that appropriate pay out has been made. Upon selection of the outcome, the outcome is compared to the pay table. If the selected outcome combination corresponds to a pre-determined winning outcome combination of the assigned pay table, the player is entitled to an award as dictated by the pay table. The pay outs and/or schedule of winning combinations are selected to provide pay outs to the players while garnering a profit for the machine, referred to as the hold. Based upon the statistical probabilities of each outcome occurring and the pay out for each outcome, the overall hold of the machine can be calculated. Most gaming jurisdictions require that the hold be within defined limits, such as 3%-10%.
Another type of gaming machine, generically referred to as a slot machine as well, is a video Poker machine. As is well known, these devices accept player wagers and, based upon the play by the player, produce an outcome represented by a final Poker hand combination. Like other slot machines, the final hand (or outcome) is compared to a pre-selected and fixed pay table of winning outcomes and pay outs. Video Poker pay tables are selected to provide a statistical hold within regulatory limits or as decided by the operator of the game.
Various video Poker pay tables have been adopted. When a pay table is adopted, it remains fixed for the game. On example of a pay table which has been adopted is referred to as a six-nine (because of the pay out for flushes and full houses) game and is shown in Table 1 below:
Other pay tables provide for greater pay outs for certain fours-of-a-Kind, flushes and the like, with all pay tables being fixed for the game and providing the desired hold. Thus, in some pay tables where a greater than 25:1 payout is provided for certain fours-of-a-kind, pay outs for other combinations is reduced, typically by paying only 1:1 for the more frequently obtained combination of two pair.
As stated above, the selected pay table for a machine remains fixed. Thus players often look for a desired pay table when selecting a machine to play. Recently, the trend has been for players to look for games wherein higher pay outs for fours-of-a-kind are provided.
In Stupak, U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,147 a gaming device and method is set forth where a player can select from a plurality of displayed candidate pay tables for selection for a video Poker game. Prior to play of the game, the player selects the desired pay table and pays hands according to the selected pay table until the player selects a different pay table.
There is a need for a device and method which provides a plurality of differently configured pay tables and which randomly (or pseudo-randomly) selects the pay table for each hand. Such a feature would increase the excitement and fun in playing the machine since the player may have to adopt different strategies for each hand of play according to the pay table and the player may receive, based upon the selection of the pay table, a greater reward than they would receive with other pay tables.
It would be advantageous if a device and method were provided where different pay tables are provided and are randomly (or pseudo-randomly) selected for each hand of play. Such an approach would add to the excitement of the game in that the player would not know, prior to selection of the pay, table, what the pay out will be for a winning combination. Where the pay table is selected before play in a video Poker game, the player may have to take into account the characteristics of the selected pay table in deciding the strategy of play.
It would be advantageous if a device and method were provided where some pay outs of a pre-selected pay table are randomly (or pseudo-randomly) selected for each hand of play to increase the excitement of the game.
It would be desirable also to provide such a method and device where a player has the option of selecting between two or more, undisclosed, randomly (or pseudo-randomly) selected pay tables for each hand of play.
It would further be desirable to provide a game which can determine player error in comparison to a pre-selected xe2x80x9cideal playxe2x80x9d and to, based upon the calculated error select a pay table for the player to move the game""s hold toward a desired level.
There is, therefore, set forth according to the present invention an electronic device and method directed to a wagering game of the type where a player makes a wager and game play indicia are selected by a data processor to result in either a winning or a losing outcome combination of indicia. If the player obtains a winning outcome, the player is issued an award according to the winning outcome combination obtained and the prevailing pay table which defines the award to be paid.
The device of the present invention includes a computer processor to control the play of the game and a display controlled by the processor to display the game play indicia. A data structure stores data corresponding to a plurality of pay tables, each pay table presenting a schedule of each game-winning outcome and a corresponding reward. The device includes, for each game played, means for selecting from the first data structure a pay table for the game and for displaying said selected pay table. Upon prompting of play of the game, the processor selects and displays an outcome for the game and compares the outcome to the selected pay table schedule of outcomes. If a game winning outcome has been selected, the device issues the reward corresponding to said selected pay table schedule.
In one embodiment, the processor randomly selects the pay table from the data sets representing the pay tables stores at the data structure. In another embodiment, the selection of each data set is weighted such that, statistically, at least one data set is more likely to be selected than another. For example, the data sets may be weighted according to a standard, bell curve, statistical, normal (Gaussian) distribution curve. The data set to be more frequently selected is weighted as the median with data sets selected to be less frequently selected are weighted less than the median data set.
In a further embodiment, the player may have the option to select between two or more, undisclosed, pay table data sets which are revealed upon selection.
In still another embodiment, the pay table is selected based upon a triggering outcome. For example, while playing under a default pay table, the player obtains a Full House, another pay table would be selected and displayed for a predetermined number of successive plays, e.g. ten. If the player does not obtain a like triggering outcome during those ten hands, the player is returned to the default pay table. If the player obtains the same triggering outcome, e.g. a Full House, the selected pay table prevails for another ten hands. If the player obtains a different, pre-selected, triggering outcome such as a four-of-a-kind, another pay table is selected to prevail for a predetermined number of plays, e.g. ten. Thus the player receives a pay table based upon obtaining triggering outcomes. For example, the triggering outcome may put the player into a more aggressive pay table so that the player can play to a pay table providing higher pays for higher ranked outcomes.
In still another embodiment, the player may be put into a different pay table based upon coin in. From a default pay table, the gaming machine counts coin in and, based upon coin in would trigger the application of another, different pay table for a predetermined number of following plays.
The method according to the present invention includes providing a memory storing a plurality of pay table data sets, each pay table data set including a schedule of designated winning outcomes and a corresponding reward, selecting for each hand a pay table data set and for any winning outcome issuing a reward corresponding to said selected pay table.
According to the various aspects of present invention, a device and method which provides for a variable selection or selection of the applicable pay table, which provides for random selection of the applicable pay table, for pseudo-random selection of the pay table and which provides for the player to select between undisclosed, selected pay tables. Still further, according to one embodiment, the processor determines player error in comparison to a pre-selected play strategy, and selects a pay table for a plurality of hands which increases the player""s chances to win.